Open burner machines for sintering ores

ABSTRACT

A circular traveling grate machine comprising a circular track over which a series of burner cars for forming sintered ore are moved, is disclosed. Each car has a trapezoidal burning surface upon which the sinter is burned. Each car is equipped with a first axle extending transversely of the track and equipped with two spaced nonflanged wheels engaging the track. A second axle of the car has mounted on each end thereof a wheel having an inner annular portion engaging the track and an annular outer portion, equipped with an enlarged inner flanged portion to be engaged by a rotating member which separates individual cars upon the track and advances them for discharge of their contents.

United States Patent Inventors Werner Schmidt;

/ Rudolf Hess, both of Frankfurt am Main,

OPEN BURNER MACHINESFOR SINTERING ORES 5 Claims, 4 Drawing Figs.

U.S. Cl. 266/21, 75/5, 263/28 Int. (I F27b 21/00 Field of Search 266/20, 21; 75/3, 5; 263/28 Primary ExaminerGerald A. Dost Attorney- Parmelee, Utzler & Welsh References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS ABSTRACT: A circular traveling grate machine comprising a circular track over which a series of burner cars for forming sintered ore are moved, is disclosed. Each car has a trapezoidal burning surface upon which the sinter is burned. Each car is equipped with a first axle extending transversely of the track and equipped with two spaced nonflanged wheels engaging the track. A second axle of the car has mounted on each end thereof a wheel having an inner annular portion engaging the track and an annular outer portion, equipped with an enlarged inner flanged portion to be engaged by a rotating member which separates individual cars upon the track and advances them for discharge of their contents.

PATENTEDum 19 I9?! SHEET 10F 2 INVENTORS.

WERNER SCHMIDT 6 RUDOLPH HESS Attorneys PAIENTEnucI 19 IBII SHEET 2 BF 2 FIG. 4.

INVENTORS.

-WERNER SCHMIDT 8 RUDOLPH HESS 6M, w im; 1441.4.

Attorneys OPEN BURNER MACHINES FOR SINTERING ORES FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to traveling grate apparatus for sintering of ores wherein a plurality of abutting cars loaded with sinterable materials, are sequentially advanced over a continuous track and separated for advancement to an unloading or dumping area.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Traveling grate sintering apparatus and the like for firing, roasting, sintering, pelletizing, etc., most widely used, are of the endless belt type wherein material to be thennally treated is carried on pallets horizontally along a top reach of the machine while the pallets return empty on the lower reach so that only about 40 percent of the hearth surface is in use at any one time. For this reason a circular hearth type is desirable since a major portion of the hearth surface may be productively utilized all of the time. However, such circular hearths are subject to thermal expansions, and stresses developing in the apparatus often times cannot be relieved, resulting in damage or permanent deformations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The foregoing difficulties of circular hearth-type pallets are substantially reduced, if not entirely eliminated, by the present invention comprising an annular apparatus for heat treatment of material in which the aforesaid thermal expansions and stresses occurring during operations are compensated for without cooling devices or the use of wheel flanges or guide rollers as the later parts have hitherto been used.

Briefly, the present invention provides an annular traveling grate machine wherein a plurality of trapezoidal-shaped wheeled cars are mounted in abutting arrangement upon concentric rails and the individual burner cars run through the several processing zones, such as frying, heating, burning and a cooling zone. A leading burner car in the closed car chain is gripped by a separation mechanism and separated from the following car chain for discharge of its contents and after reloading, is returned to the car train.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows a plan view of one form of the apparatus arranged in a single horizontal plane.

FIG. 2 shows in enlarged section the support for the cars upon a circular track and the details of construction of the said supports.

FIG. 3 illustrates a second form of the apparatus wherein the cars are moved over a descending helical form of track wherein the cars move downwardly by gravity over a descending helical form of track from the lower end of which the cars are removed by a lifting device and returned to the top of the helical track, during which lifting operation the car contents are discharged.

FIG. 4 shows a second form of the invention wherein the cars are moved in a single plane over a continuous circular track, at the end of each circuit of the track the cars are unloaded, as by a plow, and recharged to complete a new circuit of burning.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now in detail to FIGS. 1, 2 and 4 of the drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views, a circular continuous track upon which the traveling grate is to be moved is indicated generally as by the continuous rails l. A plurality of burner cars 2 are mounted on rails I, each car having a generally trapezoidal form of less length than the spacing of rails 1. Each car having converging sidewalls 2a and connecting end walls 2b and 20. As best shown in FIGS. 2, each car 2 is provided with suitable underlying axles 3 and 3a. Axle 3 having suitable wide flange wheels 4 engaging track rails l. Axles 3a, of greater length, has

mounted thereon wheels 4a engaging track rails l. Abutting wheels 40, outwardly thereof, is an enlarged elongated annular section 5 having thereon a flange 5b adjacent the rails I. As best shown in FIG. 1, the cars 2 are arranged in abutting engagement about tracks 1 except for an open space as indicated at S on FIGS. 1 and 4.

Overlying both sides of tracks 1, as best shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 of the drawings, is a suitable shafi 7 supported upon suitable bearings 8. A rotatable car separation and advancement mechanism indicated generally as 9 is mounted on shaft 7. The function of member 9 is to separate the adjacent car 2a, from the oncoming line of cars and advance the car to an unloading station to discharge the sintered ore therefrom by a suitable means, not shown. Thereafter continued rotation of member 9 advances the car to a reloading station, not shown, after which the car axle portion 5 is engaged by rotating member 10 which advances the car into abutting relation with the line of loaded cars for loading and to advance same through an ignition station to repeat the sintering cycle.

Referring now to FIG. 3 of the drawings wherein a modified form of the invention is disclosed, the track In may be arranged in a modified helical shape instead of a flat circular form. The track 1, of FIG. 1, instead of being disposed in a single horizontal plane, may comprise a flat discharge portion D, a flat forward extension D-1 and a suitably shaped upwardly extending portion D-2 terminating in a forwardly extending portion D-3 terminating in a reversed downwardly spiral helical track (not shown) joining with said first-named flat discharge portion D.

As shown in FIG. 3, a rotatably mounted car separation member 11 is mounted upon a suitably supported shaft 12 disposed transversely of and above the straight extension D1 of said track and the cars moving thereover. Said member 11 having a contoured peripheral face 11a such that upon rotation abuts extension 6 on the leading axle of car 20 moving said car over track extension D-1 and upwardly over track extension D-2 and discharges same onto track extension D-3. When surface 1 10 passes the horizontal plane the nose portion of the separation member 11 engages the extension 6 to urge the car 20 further upwardly along the surface D-2. After the nose portion of separation member 11 passes horizontal, the curved portion of the cam surface of separation member 11 engages extension 6 to urge the car 2a onto surface D-3. During this described movement of car 2a the sinter thereon is discharged therefrom and falls into a suitable collection means for removal. Preferably, the car 20 remains in spaced relation to other cars on track D-3, to permit expansion of the latter. When, however, it is desirable to advance the car 70 for reloading, the drive wheel 10 is rotated to advance the car 2a and other cars along the loaded spiral track so as to move a new car into unloading position, at the lower level.

The two forms of the invention as hereinbefore described, embody the same form of burner car construction, namely a plurality of generally trapezoidal shaped car bodies moved in abutting relation over either a circular or helical form of track. As each car 2 is loaded and fired it is intermittantly advanced along the circular track by drive wheel 10 until the track is filled with loaded burning cars wherein car 2 at position F has completed burning of the sinter therein, car 2a at the G position is located for unloading and car 2a at the H position is loaded and ready to begin the burning operation.

At this point (FIG. 4) member 9 is rotated to engage member 6 of the adjacent car to detach it from the chain of cars on track 1 and advance it through an unloading station UL and then to a reloading and ignition station II. It will be noted that the car in position L is in spaced relation S to the adjacent preceding car train. This spacing is to permit expansion of the train of heated cars on the circular track. As the next car is advanced by member 9 to the unloading position, the drive wheel 10 is rotated to move car 2a to the L position and into abutment with the preceding cars and to advance them around the circular track. As each loaded car 2 is advanced by member 10 its contents are ignited to begin the burning operation. Thus, the loading, unloading, reloading, and ignition cycles are repeated.

In the arrangement as shown on FIG. 3 of the drawings, the track T is in the general form of a helix wherein the car 2a,

car from the ignition station into abutting relation with the previously reloaded ignited car and advancement of all the cars along the said track members.

2. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said means overlying after separation from the sequence of cars on the lower end of 5 said track and the cars at said open space comprises a bearing the helix is advanced by rotation of the car separation mechanism 11 successively over a substantially flat surface of the track from portion D to portion D-1 and thence upwardly along a suitably curved surface D-2, during which it is unloaded and thereafier disposed upon the upper end D-3 of the helical track for reloading ignition and burning during passage downwardly along the helical track to the horizontal track surface D for unloading and repetition of the cycle. It will be noted that the car, as initially positioned on the helical track portion D-3 for reloading and ignition is in spaced relation S to the preceding loaded and burning cars. This spacing provides for expansion of the loaded burning cars upon the beginning helical portion of the track. The reloaded car is then advanced into contact with the preceding cars by drive wheel to begin downward movement over the helical track portion before a following car is unloaded as herein described and raised into position for the beginning of the passage over the helical track portion. It will be noted that the car separation member 11 is provided with suitable abutment portions which aid in the transfer and aligning of the car 2a upon the elevated end of the helical track, for repetition of the burning cycle.

We claim:

1. A traveling grate machine for thermal treatment of sinterable materials comprising,

a. a pair of spaced concentric continuous track members,

b. a plurality of abutting wheeled car members bearing sinterable materials mounted upon said track members covering the peripheral length thereof, except for an open space providing for loading and unloading of said cars,

c. means overlying said track and cars at said open space for successively disengaging an approaching car and successively advancing same through an unloading station, a loading station and an ignition station, and

d. means at the side of the track for advancing said reloaded stand disposed adjacent each side of said concentric track members, a powered shaft extending transversely of said track members and joumaled in said bearing stands and shaped means fixed adjacent each end of said shaft for engaging each end of an axle of an approaching car for advancing said car through an unloading, recharging and firing mechanism.

3. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said second named means for advancing said reloaded ignited car into abutting engagement with previous reloaded ignited car comprises a bearing stand at each side of the track, an axle disposed beneath said tracks and joumaled on said bearing stand, and means adjacent each end of said shaft for advancing the reloaded ignited car into contact with the line of cars upon the circular track whereby all the cars would be advanced along said track members and a burned car would be moved into the unloading station.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 2 wherein the concentric track members are comprised of a pair of transversely spaced rails whose midportions receiving the unloaded cars and conveying them through a reloading, ignition and burning cycle are arranged in the form of an elongated descending helix, with the upper and lower ends of the helix disposed in vertically and longitudinally spaced relation adjacent the end of the burning zone, with upwardly curving connecting rails, whereby said means for advancing a car through said unloading zone raises the car from the lower end of the helical track to the elevated end of said helical track during the unloading operation. g

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 4, wherein the unloaded car upon engagement upon the elevated end of the helical track is passed through suitable reloading and ignition zones before being advanced on to the descending zone of the helical track. 

1. A traveling grate machine for thermal treatment of sinterable materials comprising, a. a pair of spaced concentric continuous track members, b. a plurality of abutting wheeled car members bearing sinterable materials mounted upon said track members covering the peripheral length thereof, except for an open space providing for loading and unloading of said cars, c. means overlying said track and cars at said open space for successively disengaging an approaching car and successively advancing same through an unloading station, a loading station and an ignition station, and d. means at the side of the track for advancing said reloaded car from the ignition station into abutting relation with the previously reloaded ignited car and advancement of all the cars along the said track members.
 2. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said means overlying said track and the cars at said open space comprises a bearing stand disposed adjacent each side of said concentric track members, a powered shaft extending transversely of said tRack members and journaled in said bearing stands and shaped means fixed adjacent each end of said shaft for engaging each end of an axle of an approaching car for advancing said car through an unloading, recharging and firing mechanism.
 3. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said second named means for advancing said reloaded ignited car into abutting engagement with previous reloaded ignited car comprises a bearing stand at each side of the track, an axle disposed beneath said tracks and journaled on said bearing stand, and means adjacent each end of said shaft for advancing the reloaded ignited car into contact with the line of cars upon the circular track whereby all the cars would be advanced along said track members and a burned car would be moved into the unloading station.
 4. Apparatus as defined in claim 2 wherein the concentric track members are comprised of a pair of transversely spaced rails whose midportions receiving the unloaded cars and conveying them through a reloading, ignition and burning cycle are arranged in the form of an elongated descending helix, with the upper and lower ends of the helix disposed in vertically and longitudinally spaced relation adjacent the end of the burning zone, with upwardly curving connecting rails, whereby said means for advancing a car through said unloading zone raises the car from the lower end of the helical track to the elevated end of said helical track during the unloading operation.
 5. Apparatus as defined in claim 4, wherein the unloaded car upon engagement upon the elevated end of the helical track is passed through suitable reloading and ignition zones before being advanced on to the descending zone of the helical track. 